Continental quarterly loss narrows, revenue grows=20 =20 Wednesday January 15, 7:07 AM EST=20 HOUSTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Continental Airlines (CAL), the No. 5 U.S. airline, on Wednesday said its quarterly loss narrowed as it pulled in more revenue, setting it up to be one of the better-performing companies in an industry expected to report a nearly $8 billion loss for 2002. Houston-based Continental reported a $109 million net loss for the fourth quarter, a loss of $1.67 per share. The first of the major U.S. air carriers to report its results, Continental said revenue grew more than 17 percent, to $2.04 billion from $1.74 billion a year earlier. The airline, which reported a loss of $2.58 per share a year earlier, handily outperformed analysts' earnings forecasts and beat the average estimate of a loss of $1.99 per share. More than a year after the Sept. 11 attacks, the airline industry is still expected to reveal bigger losses than it showed in 2001 as demand for air travel stays weak and ticket prices remain low. Continental showed a $451 million loss for the full 2002 year, more than four times the shortfall it reported for 2001. Shares of Continental, which closed 14 cents lower at $8.90 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, have risen about 17 percent since the airline said on Jan. 2 that passenger traffic was better than expected in December. Its stock has dropped about 78 percent since Sept. 11, 2001.=20 =A92002 Reuters Limited.=20